Ju Zi smiled and said, "Okay then, don't forget your sister then. But how long do you plan to have me as your chef, Little Yu brother Yu?" However, she didn't take it seriously and just treated it as a joke.
At this moment, Cao Yu extended one finger.
A slight smile played on her lips. "How about a lifetime?"
Ju Zi's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't realized this guy was so good at flirting. So she said, "You're making me a little tempted, but can you afford to treat me?"
Ke Ke chimed in, "Yeah, can you afford it? Ju Zi's food is so delicious, how can we let you get all the benefits?"
Zi Mu, who was eating roast chicken, also looked up. He had now identified Cao Yu as his main opponent.
It's really infuriating! He's only been here a few days, and he's already so close to Ju Zi.
Seemingly sensing Zi Mu's mood, Wang Shaojie patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, " Zi Mu, relax. He'll leave the Sun Moon Empire sooner or later. He can't beat you."
"Hmm, I hope so." Zi Mu sighed, then continued eating the roast chicken, but it didn't taste as good as before, and she didn't know why.
After filling their stomachs, the group packed their things and set off again.
Everyone was holding fruit in their hands, taking a bite every now and then while traveling on their Flying Soul Tool.
After several more hours, they finally arrived at the outer edge of the Jingyang Mountain Range.
Although this place, also a gathering place for Soul Beast, harbors its own dangers, it pales in comparison to the Star Dou Great Forest.
Then Ju Zi took out the sample they were going to experiment with from her Storage Soul Tool.
This enormous object stood upright on the ground, resembling a sphere.
Its six enormous metal legs make it look somewhat like a fat spider.
Before Zi Mu and Wang Shaojie could react, Ju Zi pulled Cao Yu inside.
There were only three seats in total, and with Ju Zi, Ke Ke, and him, the room was just full.
After Zi Mu and Wang Shaojie realized what was happening, they shouted, " Ju Zi, what do we do?"
At this moment, Ke Ke stepped forward and said, "Let's play for a while first, you can come later."
"But..." Before Zi Mu could finish speaking, they had already closed the protective shield of the machine.
In the end, Zi Mu and Wang Shaojie could only shake their heads helplessly and follow closely behind the machine.
In the control room, while using her Soul Power to operate the machine, Ju Zi introduced it to Cao Yu: "This is Teacher Xuan's masterpiece, right? He named this thing the All-Terrain Detection Soul Tool. What do you think? Isn't it awesome?"
Cao Yu nodded and said, "It's alright, it looks pretty intimidating, but I don't know if it'll actually work."
"Let me demonstrate for you first, then you can try it yourself?"
"Okay."
It seemed that the machine had a buffer mechanism, so it made very little noise with each step. Ju Zi kept injecting Soul Power into the Soul Tool, and under her control, the All-Terrain Detection Soul Tool was always able to traverse areas with extremely complex terrain.
Moreover, they were very fast, and because the shield could also isolate their aura, they wouldn't be noticed by the Soul Beast hiding in the shadows.
Ke Ke said, "No wonder Teacher Xuan wanted us to test this Soul Tool here. It really can only bring out its greatest advantages in mountainous terrain!"
Cao Yu then operated it for a few minutes, but he quickly lost interest in the Soul Tool.
Ju Zi shook her head helplessly and said, "It seems you're not very interested in Soul Tool. Is this how all Martial Soul Master are?"
Cao Yu shook his head and said, "What are you thinking? I'm just not interested in this machine. It's rudimentary to operate and quite cumbersome; it needs further improvement."
"Sitting inside was so shaky, I almost threw up everything I ate for lunch. It was really uncomfortable."
Ke Ke nearby, clearly agreed with him, nodding and saying, "I think so too. Let's bring this up with Teacher Xuan later."
After that, the three of them handed over the right to use the machine to Zi Mu and Wang Shaojie.
After entering the control room of the All-Terrain Detection Soul Tool, Zi Mu shouted, " Ju Zi, let's come together!"
Ju Zi turned to look at him and said, "No, you guys have fun. It's getting dark, the three of us should find a place to camp, but don't go too far."
"Alright, Zi Mu, stop wasting time. This machine will be harder to operate once it gets dark."
Wang Shaojie first closed the protective shield, and then started the machine. Before long, he saw the All-Terrain Detection Soul Tool rushing into the distant mountains and forests.
By evening, the tents where the group would stay had been set up.
The machine had been set aside and hadn't yet been stored in the Storage Soul Tool.
This time, the task of cooking dinner was naturally left to Ju Zi, since her culinary skills were recognized by everyone.
Compared to the darkness outside, the campfire in the campsite gave people a greater sense of security.
"Here it is! Braised pork with radish, stir-fried chicken liver, and big chicken drumsticks!" Before long, Ju Zi and Ke Ke brought out all sorts of dishes and placed them in front of everyone.
Compared to the roast chicken at noon, it didn't seem so monotonous.
After taking a bite, Cao Yu praised, "I never expected you to cook such delicious home-style dishes. I'll definitely have you work as my chef sometime, hehe."
Ju Zi smiled gently, "Eat quickly, or the food will get cold and won't taste good."
Under the cover of night, everyone ate dinner and chatted.
Just as everyone was enjoying their meal, a roar from Soul Beast suddenly came from not far away.
Under the moonlight, four or five robust bear-shaped Soul Beast gradually approached the camp.
Moreover, their noses were constantly sniffing the air, and then the group of Soul Beast turned their gaze to the food in their hands, as if the aroma was coming from there.
Cao Yu was the first to stand up from the ground, his eyes fixed on the bear-shaped Soul Beast that was less than ten meters away from them.
Taking advantage of the dim light of the night, Ke Ke recognized the group of Soul Beast and exclaimed, "Four ten-thousand-year-old Earth-Splitting Bear, and one a thousand-year-old one!"
"Wow, what a big family!" It's no surprise they were all drawn here by the aroma of the food.
Clearly, they underestimated this gathering place of Soul Beast, thinking that setting up camp on the outskirts would be safe enough, but they didn't expect to attract these Soul Beast.
Cao Yu, Zi Mu, and Wang Shaojie were the first to step forward, then they blocked Ju Zi and Ke Ke behind them.
At this moment, the five Earth-Splitting Bear were already gleaming with ferocity, clearly starving, their mouths watering as they stared at the unfinished food.
The ground was covered in their saliva.
"Roar!"
Two ancient, ten-thousand-year-old Earth-Splitting Bear stood tall, and once their feet touched the ground, they led their entire family, their blood-red mouths agape, and pounced on Cao Yu and his companions.
"I'll hold off the three that are ten thousand years old; you can handle the remaining two."
Cao Yu did not hesitate to use the attribute boost from his Second Martial Soul.
In an instant, his damage, defense, and speed all reached their peak.
Then he threw a punch, naturally meeting the attack of the several Earth-Splitting Bear.
With a loud "thud," their sharp claws slammed down.
"So strong?"
Under the combined attack of several Earth-Splitting Bear, Cao Yu was actually forced back.
However, Zi Mu and the others quickly arrived to provide support, while Ju Zi and Ke Ke had already used their long-range Soul Tool to continuously launch various light orbs and projectiles from the rear, densely bombarding the five Earth-Splitting Bear.
(End of this chapter)